My Sister Juli

I'm horrible; this is more than a week late and I completely spaced it.

My sister Juli had a birthday this past week. I know you love reading about my family, so here's a little bit about her...

Juju is the middle child. I heard there are some bad stigmas that come with that label, but she seems to have avoided all of them. She's a great sister.

Some background behind calling her "Juju." When I was little and my speech was limited (ie incomprehensible), I had trouble with "Juli," so settled on "Juju." Sometimes I just call her "Ju" (sounds the same as "Jew," but contrary to what people around me think when I'm talking to her on the phone, there is no racial undertone here).

Juli is three years older than me, so she was fortunate enough to have me there when I was hitting all of those transitional phases: first year of high school, first year of college, first year on the east coast and starting a real job. And she has always been more than generous about feeding me, letting me crash at her place, and making me feel like I had a home to stay at. I pretty much have mooched off of her for the longest time.

One funny story I remember is from the morning of her wedding. Between spoonfuls of cereal she was putting in her mouth, she kept saying "I can't eat, I can't eat...I'm so nervous." "Then why are you shoving cereal in your mouth?" "Because if I don't, my stomach will growl." It did anyway. Really loud. Loud enough to interrupt the ceremony and draw some looks. Hilarious.

She picked up running a few years ago and has turned into an absolutely beast. She qualified for the Boston Marathon and ran it this past April, doing really well, despite a leg injury that hindered her from training like she would have liked. We were all proud of her for fighting through it. She always takes the time for her two kids, constantly teaching and being patient when they're crawling all over her. She loves cooking, laughing, and (she'll never admit it) blogging about her family.

Happy birthday, Ju!